Danny Wright

Tue 28 April 2020 11:36, UK

One of the biggest reasons as to why West Brom are doing better than last season is how much Slaven Bilic has improved the side’s defence.

At this stage last season, after 37 matches had been played, Albion had conceded 47 goals with Darren Moore and James Shan in charge. This season, the Baggies have improved leaps and bounds and conceded 10 fewer, averaging exactly one goal conceded each game.

West Brom’s tactical approach and change in personnel helped them tighten up at the back with the club saying goodbye to Moore’s dangerous play-it-out-from-the-back ethos while the likes of Craig Dawson and Tosin Adarabioyo left.

Semi Ajayi became the Baggies’ only addition at the centre-back but the tall, powerful and pacey Nigeria international made all the difference with him, Kyle Bartley and Ahmed Hegazi in as Bilic’s three options.

Most of the season has seen Albion line up with a centre-back partnership of Ajayi and Bartley due to Hegazi’s injury issues and Bartley’s strong form but before the coronavirus-enforced suspension of the league, Hegazi had started to play more often.

It begs the question about whether West Brom’s current centre-back options are good enough for the Premier League and here, we have examined each player separately:

Semi Ajayi

Ajayi is a contender to win West Brom’s player of the season award after joining from Rotherham in the summer and having a massive impact on the club’s defence. Stats by WhoScored show that Ajayi has averaged 4.1 successful aerial duels, 3.4 clearances and one tackle per league appearance this season while also having an 81.7 per cent pass accuracy. Ajayi is tall, fast, good in the air, good with the ball at his feet and has scored five goals this term. He is a defender who can do it all and he is definitely ready to play in the Premier League.

Kyle Bartley

Bartley is one of many players who have improved a lot under Bilic’s management with the ex-Swansea centre-back turning from fringe player into one of the first names on the team sheet. The 28-year-old has plenty of experience in the Championship but has always struggled when it comes to playing in the Premier League. It was a concern before the league was suspended that Bartley’s form had dropped and maybe Bilic will need to find an upgrade.

Ahmed Hegazi

Hegazi became a hit with West Brom fans almost straight away when he scored the winner on his debut against Bournemouth in 2018 but the Egypt international’s arrival coincided with Albion’s relegation and he was a mainstay of a defence that buckled way too often last term. To be fair to Hegazi, he was asked to play in a role that simply didn’t suit him by Moore and he’s been a victim of Bartley’s success under Bilic. He was linked with leaving The Hawthorns in January so Albion could be forced into replacing him.

Dara O’Shea

We didn’t mention O’Shea earlier on because he has hardly played at centre-back this season. Bilic promoted O’Shea from the Under-23s after being impressed by his first few performances in the senior squad. He did well at centre-back against Brentford back in December while also playing there against Charlton in the FA Cup. We have been more impressed by O’Shea as a right-back but don’t discount the fact he can play at centre-back too.

West Brom probably do need to tinker with their centre-back options if they win promotion to the Premier League.

Ajayi is a safe bet while Hegazi and Bartley could provide decent cover with O’Shea filling in when he needs to.

But Albion do need to sign one more player in that role, preferably someone with Premier League experience.

In other West Brom news, Chris Kamara has discussed the impact of the season being scrapped early.